Fernando Henrique Cardoso: "There was a setback in inter-American relations"

09/16/2020 - 15:44

• Clarín.com

• World

He was President, Chancellor and Minister of Finance of Brazil.

He is a sociologist, politician, political scientist, philosopher and university professor, but his 89-year-old Fernando Henrique Cardoso defines himself first of all as an

and longs for the times of frank and open dialogue between the Casa Rosada and the Planalto Palace, which he occupied between 1995 and 2002.

Without taboos, Cardoso referred to the future of the region and the world;

right-wing populist leaders like Donald Trump;

to the chances of the re-election of Jair Bolsonaro and to the surprise that the current Brazilian president and his Argentine counterpart, Alberto Fernández, do not dialogue.

“I find it a bit bizarre that a country as powerful as the United States has leadership that is so changeable that it does not seem to establish itself as a world-class leader.

In my time there were symbolic leaders like

who did not have as much influence, but he was a symbol.

For the world to come we need new leaders;

not necessarily from politics, they can come from journalism, science or football, but it is important that people follow them.

We are in a change of era ”, reflected without anesthesia and without raising his voice the co-founder

at the start of the third broadcast of the cycle"

", which are part of the celebrations for

75 years

.

Interviewed by the editor-in-chief of the newspaper

, Cardoso left disturbing statements.

“Democracies no longer die from coups, but from within.

Maybe it's deeper.

Structures have less weight because people can connect to each other.

It requires a different political action from the action of the parties, ”he said.

Interview by zoom.

Fernando Henrique Cardoso.

The former president believes that Bolsonaro may be reelected Photo: Rafael Mario Quinteros

In the same vein, he referred to the new right-wing populisms, a phenomenon that does not fall within the tradition of Latin American populisms.

“There is an internal decomposition.

The very fact that a person like (Donald) Trump can be elected and can be re-elected proves it;

there is a crisis of representative democracy, "he said.

The former Brazilian president added that globalization produced the integration of markets but emphasized that the new populist leaders are going in the opposite direction.

“They are populists who do not want to include.

They say: 'we don't want blacks, Arabs, Latinos'.

They exclude.

It is a tradition contrary to Latin American populism, which was inclusive, "he argued and argued that these leaders construct their policies as if their communities were" under attack. "

"It seems that with these new populisms there is an adoration of the powerful man," he reflected and suggested that the organs of counterpower no longer function as before.

Like the former president of Chile,

, who also participated in the cycle that has the business support of

, and under the auspices of

;

Cardoso referred to the crisis of supranational organizations.

“We had gotten used to organizations like the UN.

Now it is going to be a clash between supranational states and the freedom of a country.

This new line will contradict economic integration.

It is a problem, because integration is increasing and it will continue to be that way.

Domestic markets are no longer enough, they are international, they are integrated;

but the world of culture and the values ​​that are spreading are one of exclusion ”, he lamented.

This phenomenon, for Cardoso, is replicated in the region.

“There was a feeling that we were all Latin American.

I don't know if that thought exists today.

There is a feeling of little responsibility towards others.

Bolsonaro does not have the capacity to understand Hispanics.

It is a new world in which everyone will think about themselves.

The pandemic is a reflection of that.

¿

? "He questioned.

He is more perplexed by the fact that Bolsonaro and Fernández have never met alone.

“That situation is very strange.

I had a direct personal relationship with the presidents of Argentina.

We saw each other very often.

There was a setback in inter-American relations, I have the feeling that the Brazilian government is not concerned with what happens in another country.

Yes (they are concerned about) what happens with the United States and China and something with Europe, but nothing with Latin America.

There was a disconnect.

That is bad, because we had advanced a lot in the political, economic and human aspects.

One has to realize that he does not live alone with the world and that he does not live alone with his owners, for the United States.

What happened with the IDB is a reflection of that, it is a real loss of possibility of action, "he suggested regarding the election of the American

to the presidency of the credit organization that used to be reserved for a Latin American.

Cardoso believes that Bolsonaro - whom he defines as reactionary and conservative - has a good chance of being reelected, especially if the Brazilian opposition does not join.

“The way he dealt with the pandemic was denial.

It did not contribute to its assessment, ”he analyzed regarding the rebound in the Brazilian president's polls.

He was excited about a paradigm shift in the politics of his country.

“You have to wait and see what happens when the pandemic ends, when people lose their fear.

Bolsonaro was anti all of the above.

I had no purposeful idea.

He did not come because of his ideas but because of a negative agenda.

I don't know how it will be in the future.

I would prefer a positive agenda, but they are wishes, it is not an analysis of reality, "he said.

Finally, the former president of the Latin American giant referred to the situation in Venezuela.

“I am very concerned about the division of the Venezuelan opposition, because division does not go far.

The economy is very weakened in a country that had a certain well-being, that knew good food and now has nothing to eat (…) We must support more developmental and democratic projects, not only institutional changes, which are important.

The most positive thing is that one does not interfere.

Nobody from outside solves the political problems of a country ”, he concluded.